Concord: Cleanup from BART derailment to last through Saturday

CONCORD -- Cleanup was expected to continue through Saturday after an unloaded BART train departing the Concord station derailed shortly after 6:20 p.m. Friday, leaving cars strewn across two sets of tracks and the train's lead car hanging off the edge of the elevated rails.

There were no injuries, according to firefighters at the scene. Only the driver was aboard the train, which was out of service and heading back to a yard when the derailment occurred.

Witness Adam Goermar, of Concord, had just gotten into his car and was trying to rest his feet while playing a game of Candy Crush on his cellphone when he heard the commotion on the tracks above.

Goermar said it seemed the train was going too fast as it went through the station. He saw it bounce two or three times, sending off sparks as it went. He then heard a pop, saw a flash followed by smoke and more sparks, and suddenly the train veered across the tracks and headed over the edge.

"It was like something out of a movie," he said. "I caught my breath."

Goermar said he saw the lights inside the train flicker. He then saw the driver get out and he looked "a little shaky."

A woman who was aboard the train immediately following the one that derailed described a crazy scene with passengers getting agitated about being delayed.

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It was not immediately known what caused the train to leave the tracks. Late Friday, BART workers were climbing up onto the train to inspect it as a strong electrical odor lingered over the area. The extent of damage was not known, but officials said repairs to the track, train and electric third rail would likely last through Saturday.

Disgruntled commuters were experiencing major delays systemwide. BART suspended service between Pleasant Hill and Pittsburg and had no estimate when full service would resume, according to spokeswoman Alicia Trost.

Trost said that BART set up a bus bridge to the Pleasant Hill station for passengers needing to reach eastern destinations on the Pittsburg-Bay Point line.

The Concord, North Concord and Pittsburg stations are expected to remain closed Saturday.

Riders traveling to San Francisco or Oakland are being advised to catch their trains at the Pleasant Hill station. A shuttle train will also be operating between Pittsburg and North Concord, and buses will operate between the North Concord, Concord and Pleasant Hill stations, BART said late Friday.

In the hours following the accident, some passengers remained inside the Concord station, waiting for rides to show up to take them home.

An observer told the Contra Costa Times that roughly 250 people had already lined up for buses at the Pleasant Hill station and were generally good humored about the situation, although the growing queue far outstripped the available bus space.

When the first buses arrived at the Concord station, anxious commuters stampeded toward them hoping to grab one of the few available seats. Some grumbled about the inconvenience and poor communication from officials about the situation.

This is not the first time a train has derailed near the Concord station. Another incident occurred March 13, 2011, when two cars of a 10-car train with 65 passengers aboard left the tracks in a slow-speed derailment. Investigators later determined that the accident was likely caused by uneven wear on a track section and flawed maintenance on a train wheel that slipped off the rails.

Only minor injuries resulted, but the transit system estimated the cleanup cost at more than $1 million.